THE EPISTLES OF JOHN
By Joel Beeke
Evangelical Press. 250 pages. £8.95
ISBN 978-0-85234-633-4
This is an exposition rather than a commentary on the apostle John’s three letters. I suspect that it arose from an original series of sermons — at least it read like that to me. As one would expect from this author, its standpoint is thoroughly orthodox and pronouncedly reformed. It is based on the King James Version.
It is full of helpful doctrinal teaching and good application. Illustrations are in rather short supply. Fairly short chapters deal, in most cases, with just a few verses, although the second and third epistles are given just one chapter each. There is a tendency for each small section of the text to be used as a launch pad to deal with other aspects of its subject matter taught elsewhere in the Bible. This is fine in that Scripture is its own interpreter and we need to bring the teaching of the Bible as a whole to bear on each of its parts. Nevertheless I found myself thinking sometimes ‘this is certainly true, but is it what John intended to teach in this particular passage?’
